It Will Always Be You
by klcthenerd
Summary: The missing Stefan/Katherine study scene from my story "The Power of Two." Enjoy!


Hey guys! Here's a small one-shot that takes place previous to Chapter 6 in _The Power of Two._ Hope I did the characters and the ship justice! Katherine's just so hard to write!

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"_Shit_!" Stefan cursed, squeezing his phone in his hand. It took quite a bit of control to not break it, though he could feel the plastic cracking in his grip.

"Everything alright?" A smooth voice asked from the doorway.

Stefan turned to see which doppelganger had joined him, though he already knew he'd find Katherine standing under the wooden frame. There was a look of concern in her eyes, which the younger Salvatore knew was only reserved for him.

"That was Klaus," he explained, his grip finally loosening on the cell phone. "One of his hybrids told him Elena hasn't been at school. He's on his way back to Mystic Falls. He'll be here tomorrow." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "This is bad, Katherine."

"Well it's sure as shit not good, Stefan, but if Klaus shows up tomorrow, he's not leaving alive," Katherine reassured him, entering the study and closing the door behind her.

"You and Elena have hardly trained; we need a back-up plan. Something bad is going to happen, Katherine. She's not ready!"

The brunette's features turned from concern to uncaring at Stefan's words.

"She'll be just fine, Stefan. Just like she always is. We'll just continue with everything as planned."

"No. We have to pull the plug on this. We have to get Elena far away from Klaus," Stefan muttered as he paced around the room.

"We're not running, Stefan. I've spent 500 years running, and I'm tired," Katherine insisted, walking towards the pacing vampire. "We're finishing this tomorrow. Once and for all."

"_No_, Katherine."

Stefan was met with his back being slammed against the brick wall, Katherine's hands digging into his shoulders, her fangs exposed.

"Why can't you care about anyone other than your precious Elena, Stefan? This affects me, too. This affects all of us! If we run now, we run forever. I found that out the hard way, and now I have a chance to end it, once and for all, and I'm not giving it up. I'm not, Stefan," Katherine ended quietly.

"But Katherine, you're not ready. Elena's not ready. We'll have another cha-"

"Stop protecting Elena, Stefan!" Katherine shouted, throwing him to the ground. "She's a _vampire_ now. She's not that vulnerable human anymore. She can take care of herself, amazingly enough!"

"And I'm supposed to believe you? You've always wanted her dead. Why should I trust what you say?"

"Because I'm an inch away from getting my freedom, and I know you or Damon would kill me if I let her die. Or you'd hate me forever. Which you kind of already do, but whatever. I'm here to fight, Stefan, and I'm going to fight for you- I want there to be a chance for us eventually, and if I'm responsible for Elena's death, we both know that's never going to happen."

"Never seemed to stop you before," Stefan retorted.

"That's back when you were head-over-heels for her. Not to say you aren't now, but you obviously seem to know that Elena and Damon are _destined to be together_ or some bullshit like that. And after what happened in 1864, you and your brother are finally in a good place, and I know you're not going to sacrifice that for a girl. Even Elena Gilbert," Katherine explained, her grip having loosened.

"I'm confused. Are you here for Klaus or are you here for me?" Stefan asked, sitting up.

"Make no mistake, Stefan. I'm here to kill Klaus. But my feelings for you have always been real. I've told you that. After we kill Klaus, I'm leaving Mystic Falls. There's too much history here. You could use some time away too, Stefan. Away from your brother and Elena. You could get some distance and have a very… experienced travel guide," she winked, aiming to persuade him with logic. He was staring at her, as if contemplating her offer.

"It sounds nice, but I don't know…"

"Elena and Damon will be safe. Klaus will be gone and there will be _nothing_ to worry about, Stefan. Come with me. We can fall in love again, just the two of us this time. Like it should be."

"You're hell-bent on this, aren't you Katherine?" the Salvatore chuckled.

"What can I say? I'm finally tired of being on my own," she shrugged, giving him a coy smile.

"All those years being on the run finally got to you, eh?"

"I'm waiting for an answer, Stefan," Katherine informed him with a harsh tone, having grown impatient.

"Before I accept or decline, I have to know: Why me, Katherine? You were bent on getting me back since the minute you came back to Mystic Falls two years ago. Why?"

Katherine's brows furrowed in confusion as she made eye contact with the boy before her.

"I thought you knew… It's always been you, Stefan. And it will always be you."

Stefan looked over the vulnerable features of the vampire in front of him, looking for a crack in her facade. He found none, and his heart ached for her. They were kindred spirits now, loving someone who loved another. He thought of the pain he had endured during his service to Klaus; the knowledge that Damon's love for Elena would heal and protect her, making her fall for Damon in return. He had hated Klaus for that, and he still did, but there was no denying that Damon and Elena were in love before Klaus had taken Stefan away. The younger Salvatore knew in his heart that their relationship would have happened eventually either way. A slowly growing part of him was happy for them. It overjoyed him to see his brother so happy, so in love- Damon had had such a hard life, he deserved as much.

And before him now was Katherine. Beautiful Katherine. A woman whom he had both loved and hated with every inch of him. He had always denied that his attraction to Elena had anything to do with Katherine, but he knew that was bullshit. He had watched Elena for weeks, praying it had been Katherine, and had been devastated when it was not. But then he fell in love with the girl, not the appearance, and he loved her for everything she was not. She wasn't manipulative or devious, like Katherine; she had been kind and caring and fragile. A part of Stefan was overjoyed at the thought of never having to protect Elena from harm again, though he knew he would in a heartbeat. But Katherine was right; she was able to take care of herself now. And she had Damon- though, arguably, she had always had Damon.

Stefan still loved her. He knew that love would fade eventually, just as it had for Katherine. And now Katherine was before him again, professing her love to him, and he felt torn. He knew two different Katherines: the evil one, who had done countless terrible things to him and his brother, and the real Katherine before him right now, who didn't hide behind a mask of cruelty, of fear of being killed. The Katherine who had been running for half a century and longed for companionship. The Katherine he thought he might be able to love again.

He was ready to take that leap. He wanted to go away, to travel the world with Katherine as he became one hundred percent accepting of Damon and Elena's relationship. He wanted to get over Elena quickly so he could return and live here with his brother. But he was afraid. Afraid that by traveling with Katherine, he would love her for her similarities to Elena. Stefan was afraid that Katherine would just be someone on whom he would transfer his feelings for Elena, and that was the last thing he wanted. He wasn't sure if he could be fair to Katherine while he still had these feelings, and he wanted to make this known.

"Katherine-" he started, staring into the brown eyes that were, for the first time in years, devoid of bitterness. "I want to go with you."

A very Elena-like smile brightened her face, causing Stefan's heart to constrict once more.

"But Katherine- I need time. I loved Elena. I still love Elena, but I don't want to. And I don't want to just jump from doppelganger to doppelganger. I want to be able to be fair to you. I need to get over Elena before I can even think of loving you," he told her. He could see hurt reflected in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a sarcastic smile.

"Stefan Salvatore; always doing the right thing. Such a gentleman," she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I can wait," she whispered, before pulling back to make eye contact.

She didn't smile, but Stefan could hear the beating of her heart, and that said it all.

"We're all allowed a stolen moment," he said in a rush before his right hand flew up to cup her cheek and pull her forward, their lips colliding in an explosion of emotions.

Katherine threw herself atop of the Salvatore brother, her legs straddling his midsection as his hands ran possessively up and down her back as their tongues fought one another for dominance. She let out a small moan as the veins around her eyes manifested themselves on her features, her control lost to her desire for the man beneath her. Her fangs appeared shortly after and she quickly pried her lips free of Stefan's to sink her teeth into the flesh on his neck, earning her a loud groan from him as his hold on her tightened, and his desire for her grew. She extracted her fangs and licked the blood off of her lips, smiling seductively.

"Shhh…we don't want to wake them," she playfully chastised before crashing her lips against Stefan's once more, grinding against his arousal. He took her by surprise and flipped their positions so that he had the upper hand on her.

He quickly grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, throwing it to the side as Katherine did the same to his. His hands ran across her exposed flesh, his nails dragging behind, leaving explosions of fire in their wake. His head dipped down and he began to trail kisses down her body. He nipped as her neck with his blunt teeth, his gums tingling as his fangs threatened to escape as he trailed over her collarbone and around the curvature of her still-hidden breasts. He planted small, urgent kisses as he made his way down her cleavage and directly over her bellybutton before running his tongue along the skin at the waistband of her pants. He looked up and saw her head thrown back in anticipation, causing a smile to grace his lips before his fangs broke free. He quickly moved to her neck, plunging them into her skin as she let out a cry of pleasure.

He took a long, satisfying drink before pulling back.

"Shhh… we don't want to wake them," he repeated, his eyes glistening with desire and excitement.

Katherine smirked at the man above her before pulling him back down as they shared another deep kiss, the mixed tastes of their blood reacting like an aphrodisiac. Stefan pulled Katherine up and blurred over to the nearest wall, so she was pinned up between the wall and his body, free to wrap herself around him as she pleased.

Katherine has just undone the top button of Stefan's jeans when he froze, his eyes shooting open and looking at the woman before him.

"They're up," she sighed annoyed.

"Yeah," Stefan said with a trace of sadness. He leaned forward and planted a slow kiss on Katherine's lips. "I promise, Katherine, one day I will be for you what you want. I'll leave Mystic Falls with you once we kill Klaus and I know my brother and Elena will be safe. Then I'm mine, and then I'm yours."

He stepped back and let her down gently, but he could see her façade building up once more. She wouldn't let the others see her weaknesses. They returned to their shirts on the floor and put them back on in silence. Stefan looked at her, smiling as they both registered the sound of Elena's footsteps in the house.

"For the record, I am glad you're here, Katherine. Whether or not any of us want to admit it, you are helping with mostly everything," he told her as he grabbed her hand, winking. He knew Elena, and he knew her curiosity was her weakness.

"_Mostly_ everything?" Katherine replied with sarcasm, eyes sparkling as she took Stefan's other hand. He took his right hand and her left hand and traced her cheek as he spoke.

"Leave Elena and Damon's relationship alone. I know that's probably weird considering everything Elena and I went through, but Damon spent a century and a half loving someone who didn't love him back. He deserves this."

"Look at you, being a good brother," Katherine heaved a sigh as she lightly pushed him against a wall. "I guess I'll give up my _only_ source of amusement. After all…" she said, dropping her guard as her voice softened, "Why should I spend my time pretending to seduce Damon after you've just given me hope."

Stefan placed one last kiss on her forehead as he stepped away from the wall and untucked her hair from her shirt.

"One day," he mouthed before walking out of the door, Katherine following close behind.

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There you are! I hope you liked it! Review and let me know what you think! :) I don't think it's as good as my Delena, but I might just be severely biased. I'm going to try and get chapter 7 of TPOT up sometime next week. Please review! :)


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